Re: Loki...

[Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail.net>]

Chris wrote:
> 
> Steve Baker wrote:
> 
> > But if the practice of installing both OS's was commonplace, there would
> > be no need for games companies to build a Windoze version at all.
> 
> You can only really take the "no Windows version" route when the vast
> majority of people have linux installed. Quite frankly I will be amazed if
> we ever get a 50% split of the desktop market even if everything goes
> perfectly. Not because of any inferiority in Linux, but because of the
> inertia of the market place and the fact that some people hate Linux as
> much as I hate Windows.

The thing that *might* make this possible is the idea that the new anti-Monopoly
rules for M$ will likely prevent them from banning/discouraging OEM resellers of
Windoze from installing competitors software on new PC's.

If they are relieved of this constraint, there is really nothing to prevent
the Dell's, Compaq's and Gateway's of this world from installing *both*
Linux and Windoze.  It's essentially a zero cost thing for them to do and
if it makes their budget home PC look even 1% better than their competition,
they'll likely want to do it.  Once one does, they'll all have to - and then
you'll suddenly find that Linux is installed on the same number of machines
as Windoze.  That's not saying that everyone will *use* Linux routinely,
but it does remove a significant obstacle to Linux adoption.

> More accurately speaking, companies will only
> support Linux once it becomes economically viable to do so* and they will
> only stop supporting Windows when the loss that would result from the sales
> reduction is less than the reduction in costs created by supporting both
> platforms.

Indeed.

> Where that threshold is, I'm not sure, but I doubt we will see
> it for several years, if ever (complete collapse of the Gatesian Empire
> notwithstanding of course).

Yep - nothing like this can happen overnight.

> I'm not arguing that. For things like rendering, especially networked
> rendering, Linux has significant advantages over Windows. (I just wish
> Newtek would release a Linux version of Lightwave! :/)

There is Maya for Linux - *if* you can afford it!

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